Guillermo Del Toro: 'Directors don't take horror seriously'

August 23rd, 2011

Guillermo Del Toro thinks too many directors get involved with horror "to make a quick buck".

The 46-year-old Mexican director - who has previously made gothic thriller 'The Devil's Backbone' and produced chiller 'The Orphanage' - thinks too few people take horror seriously because all they want to do is make money.

He said: "I think that the case of the genre of horror movies, they are a way to make a quick buck. There are very few filmmakers both on the producing and directing side who actually approach horror with the desire to create something either of substance or something beautiful or powerful.

"Most of the people just try to get a [big opening] weekend and DVD sales."

Guillermo recently completed work on 'Don't Be Afraid' - which he wrote and produced - about a girl who accidentally lets a goblin out of a fireplace which begins to torment her, and he admits he loves the film because he has been trying to get it made for 13 years.

He told Wired.com: "I don't get attached, or I rarely get attached, to something I'm not generating from the get go. Don't Be Afraid is no exception. I started working on this project actively about 16 years ago now. We wrote it in 1998 which was about 13 years ago.

"And I have not stopped pursuing it actively. So I really just try to get involved in things I feel truly passionate about, and if I happen to be able to control the rights or hold the rights, I don't let them go."